1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of applying a material, and more particularly, to a method of uniformly applying a material, by using a robot, to the entire outer peripheral surface of a rotating object which has an outer diameter varying along its rotation axis.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, to apply a material such as paint to a surface of an object, the material is discharged (sprayed or ejected) from a material discharging device toward the object, while the device is moved relative to the object which is fixed, or while the object is rotated and at the same time the material discharging device is fixed or is moved relative to the object. The thickness of the material attached to the object can be made uniform, by moving the object and the material discharging device relative to each other at a constant speed if the surface of the object is a two-dimensional plane, or by rotating the object at a constant speed and at the same time moving the material discharging device along the rotation axis of the object if the object is cylindrical in shape. It is, however, difficult to uniformly apply a material to a rotating object whose outer diameter varies along the rotation axis thereof.